1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved vehicle cleaning element and, more particularly, to a cleaning element having a plurality of cleaning strips and a plurality of inserts made of a sound suppressing material mounted between at least some of the cleaning strips.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous devices are known in the art for washing vehicles by employing rotating brush assemblies or other cleaning elements. One such device is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,003, which describes therein a vehicle washing apparatus which includes a supporting frame, a brush support arm pivotally mounted at one end directly to the frame, a rotatable mount for mounting a rotatable brush at the distal end of the arm and a drive for rotating the brush. The device is illustrated in FIG. 7 which shows a brush assembly having a rotatable shaft 20 which carries a bristle drum having bristles 24 projecting radially outwardly. Other types of rotating brush assemblies use felt strips or plastic foam strips or the like.
One of the problems in using brushes having a plurality of cleaning strips made of a material such as foam plastic is that the foam strips tend to fold over and also slap the vehicle as the brush rotates, thus creating a load noise. In an effort to suppress such noise, prior art devices using a material such as foam plastic cleaning strips have been slowed down in order to stop or suppress the noise and to prevent any damage from the strips, but such a remedy does not provide adequate cleaning of the vehicle.